The Walking Dead: Camp Carver
by TheBigBadWolf1
Summary: AU. COMPLETE. The Motel group is forced to live under the harsh conditions after being taken to a community ruled by a madman called Carver. They have to go through forced labor and hard work if they want to keep breathing. Figuring out an escape is nearly impossible, so who will survive Camp Carver?
1. Chapter 1 - New Fish

A/N: I do not own TWD nor any of its content.

The Walking Dead: Camp Carver

Chapter 1 – New Fish

"Okay, we line everybody up." Lilly said, as she stared at the bag full of medicine. Lee's spine froze, knowing that Lilly had a bad temper, and now that she had irrefutable evidence to prove her theory about there being a traitor was right, she would probably snap. "What the hell?" Lilly muttered.

Lee turned around to see what was happening, as Lilly got up from her bed and approached the window. They saw the entire group kneeled, being held at gunpoint by four people. Both of them became petrified when they saw that all of them were carrying AK-47s.

"Who the fuck is that?!" Lee questioned. "They have our people out there!" As he said this, one of the guys forced Carley to kneel and put her hands behind her head.

"Oh shit!" Lilly cursed, as she ran towards the chest of drawers to get her rifle. "They're gonna start kicking in doors at any second!"

"Lilly, what the hell are you…" Lee asked, completely idealess on what to do.

"Stall them." She replied, before opening the back window to exit the room.

"What?" Lee said, seeing that Lilly already had one of her crazy plans.

"Just keep them talking. Do whatever it takes to stop them from pulling the trigger!" Then she disappeared through the window.

"Shit." Lee mumbled, then he head for the door, and opened it, hoping those looters wouldn't shoot him.

"Johnny, Bonnie, start taking some of our friends to the truck." The looter with the fur coat, mustache and crispy voice ordered. "Troy, if I find out you been wasting fuel to keep that fucking heater going, I'll make you walk."

"Nope. Froze my ass off. Just like you told me to." The guy known as Troy replied.

Then, Lee emerged from behind the RV, his arms up and his Glock well concealed in his pants.

"Stop!" The guy with the fur coat called Carver removed a revolver from his belt and pointed it at him. Troy, Johnny and Bonnie stopped and elevated their rifles at Lee. He started to get nervous, never had he seen such powerful weaponry.

"Take it easy." Lee calmed. "We have supplies! You can take them! Just leave us the hell alone!" Lee eyed the group that was expecting him to do something. It was going to be hard to retrieve his friends.

"I don't need your pathetic supplies." The man remarked. "What I do need, is for you to surrender, and come along nice and easy. Take him Troy."

Troy walked towards Lee, who felt tempted to reach for his Glock, but he knew that that would probably cause casualties on both sides.

Troy pushed his shoulder, making him turn around. He noticed the handgun, and took it.

"Wouldn't want ya to do anythin' with this, uh?" He mocked, and tightened his wrists with rope. Lee managed to spot Lilly hidden in the upper balcony looking for a clear shot. But overwhelming these people would be impossible, because they would start killing hostages as soon as she would shoot. Only now he realized how Lilly's plan would get everybody killed, and he could simply hope she wouldn't shoot, and that they wouldn't be shot.

"Well, where on our way." Carver said to a walkie-talkie, as Bonnie, Johnny and Troy were leading everyone to the back of the truck. Lee hurtled near Clementine.

"Where are they taking us?" She whispered to her guardian.

"I don't know, sweet pea." Lee truthfully told her. "Just don't do anything that'll make these people angry. Okay?"

"Hmhm." Clem nodded, and looked back on the motel, that they were leaving.

Lee quickly enumerated his group, to check that there was everyone: Kenny and his family, Ben and Carley. Yep, Lilly was the only one who remained in the shadows."We got some new faces arriving today. We'll be there in an hour, maybe. Make sure everyone's prepped. There were no casualties, today everything went smooth. Carver out." The walkie-talkie beeped when he turned it off.

In five minutes, the entire group was thrown in the back of a large truck, while Lilly still hadn't appeared. Johnny then came, and locked the truck's gate.

"I don't trust this very much." Carver confessed. "Are you sure that you caught everyone?" He asked, looking at Troy and Johnny.

"We don't saw anyone else." Johnny answered.

"I got a feeling about this. Go and do a second sweep. Check every…"

"Shit! Lurkers!" Johnny shouted as he shot towards a group of lurkers.

"Don't waste bullets, you idiot!" He said loudly, making him be heard through the sound of gunshots. "Get in the truck, we gotta go."

The group got concerned hearing the gunshots, but after some minutes, they sensed the truck driving. They were doomed, and they could only hope Lilly would help them.

Inside the truck, the ambience was heavy. Everyone was wondering where they were being taken. Katjaa was trying to calm Duck, so as Lee was trying to calm Clementine. The road they were being led was probably a dirt one, seeing that the truck would wave around a lot.

"Are they gonna hurt us?" Clementine demanded her protector.

"I don't think so, sweet pea. If they wanted to, I think they woulda've done it by now." He responded, calming Clementine

"All right, we gotta do something." Kenny said, examining his surroundings. "Come on. Anyone got anything sharp? Anything?"

"Kenny, please." Katjaa pleaded, her arm around her son. "Don't make the situation worse than it is."

"Honey, we cannot sit here, while they take us God knows where." He replied, quickly going back to engineering a plan. "We need to get these bindings off. Hey Lee, find something to cut these bindings."

Lee lifted his eyes of Clem, and towards Kenny.

"Why bother?! So they can kill us now? You can't do nothing this time, Ken." Lee responded, knowing Kenny was already getting over his head.

"We're in a fucking precarious position here. We gotta do something about that!" Kenny shouted.

"Calm down, Kenny." Carley interfered. "There's no way we can escape from here."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Kenny looked at everyone sitting around him. "Are you just gonna give up? Is that it?!"

"For God's sake Kenny, the kids are already scared, we all are! Don't make it worse." Lee insisted.

"I'm trying to help!" Kenny said, seeing that everyone was against his plan.

Suddenly, the truck braked roughly. Then, Lee and the others heard the 'beep' sound that big vehicles do when they are driving in reverse.

"Jackpot!" Kenny hollered, before crawling over to a sharp scrap of metal on the wall. Without hesitation, he started rubbing his bindings against it to cut them. In a matter of seconds, his wrists were free.

"You're gonna get us all killed!" Ben dared to say.

"Shut up, shitbird. Y'all don't know what you're talking about. We get cooped up in some kennel like a buncha fucking dogs, it's over." Kenny replied.

"Right now, Lilly might be our only hope." Carley said.

"If she was gonna do something, she'd done it by now." Kenny responded.

"I've to agree with Kenny on this one." Lee said. "I'm not sure if Lilly is willing to come and rescue us. We can only hope."

Again, the truck stopped, making it wobble.

"They have guns. What do you expect to do honey?" Katjaa asked, keeping an eye on her son, who was calm and quiet.

"I'm gonna punch the first son of a bitch I see, then I'm gonna take his gun and use it to shoot the next son of a bitch I see." He insisted.

"Please Kenny." Katjaa begged, close to tears. "Just sit down like the rest of us. Think about Duck."

Kenny remained quiet for a minute, thumping his fingers against the wall he was leaning on, knowing that his tricky maneuver could mean that his family would get hurt. Or worse.

"I'm sorry Kat, I just can't stay still not knowing where these assholes are taking us." Kenny sighed.

Then, the truck hit something with a strong impact. The shock made Kenny trip and fall of his face, knocking him out cold.

"Kenny, are you alright?!" Katjaa said, rushing over to his side.

"Uh, what hit me?" He said faintly, waking up.

"Probably better that way." Carley commented.

"I think we're here." Ben said, after being almost entirely quiet through the entire conversation.

A bright light shone upon the prisoners, as the gate was lifted, revealing four guards with assault rifles, two of them were Troy and Bonnie, the third one was a chubby black woman, and the other was Johnny. They saw a small room that had some spotlights turned on, illuminating the space, and a bunch of boxes laying around. The group was surprised to see electricity.

"Damn' brakes aren't working for shit." Troy claimed.

"Up and at 'em." The chubby woman called Tavia said.

The guards moved away from the path to lead the new people. When Kenny was passing along, Troy stopped him.

"The fuck? How'd you get your restraints off?! Come here." He ordered.

When they checked that they had the entire group, they surrounded them in a squared assembly, and lead them out of the unloading room they were at, and they followed the guards into a massive open area, that revealed to be a supermarket before the apocalypse. Above the tall shelves that were connected by wood planks that served as bridges, there were even more guards observing and watching. Each shelf was full of canned food, seeds and bags of soil. On top of the gigantic wall in front of the group, was a large window, showing Carver preparing to do a speech through a microphone.

"_We've got some new faces coming with us tonight._" Carver's voice was even crispier through the speakers hanged throughout the mall. "_You might not know these people, but as from today they're a part of our community, a contribution to our society. So remember they're here to help us make our home a better place._"

"Holy crap, check out all the food!" Ben exclaimed, noticing the large amount of food.

"It's enough to feed hundreds of people for years!" Carley agreed, admiring the stacked rations.

"I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying." Kenny said. Both Carley and Ben came back to reality, and recalled that these were still the people who took them away from their home.

"_As many of you know, a large herd of lurkers gathers just south of us…we've kept an open eye on them…_"

"So, you got medical experience?" Troy asked Katjaa. She questioned herself about how he knew that she was once a vet.

"Uh, yes." She replied, keeping her head down.

"Then come on, we need you for something." Troy ordered, waving his arm.

"Like hell you're taking my wife!" Kenny implied at him.

"Mommy, where are you going?" Duck questioned.

Troy wielded his gun at Kenny's chest. "She's coming. Get your son and follow the group, unless you want to become a bag o' holes."

"You're gonna pay, motherfucker." He insulted, letting his temper get the best of him.

"Y'all need to learn something." He got closer to Kenny, about to reprehend him for his insult. "In here, ya need to respect this community and our leader, Carver."

Troy lifted his AK-47, and then hit Kenny with the butt of his rifle on his stomach. Kenny panted and took some steps back, trying to tolerate the pain.

"Daddy!" Duck screamed for Troy to leave his father alone.

"Kenny!" Katjaa shouted, wanting to run over to her husband, but Troy stopped her by placing himself in front of her.

"Dammit, Troy, you need to start controlling your anger." Tavia said. "We can't do something simple without you starting a fight."

"Fine, fuck, whatever." Troy replied. "Let's just go. C'mon, Doc." He referred to Katjaa.

"Come on, Duck. Mom will be alright." Kenny stood again in his normal posture, leading his son under arm. "She'll be back soon." He assured. "Be careful Kat."

Troy delivered Katjaa to a blonde woman, who then told her to come with her. Then, Troy went back to leading the group.

They reached a pen with a closed gate, that Bonnie was unlocking while on her knees.

"Make sure y'all stay off the fence." Bonnie softly warned. "Bill can see if you're messing with it."

"_…And with the added manpower joining us this evening I have no doubt that we will continue to rise. It's no longer enough to survive…it's our obligation to make this community a beacon of hope…to provide a light…a bright light…bright enough to shine in all of this darkness. So that's what we'll do._"

The gate rose, and they were led into a yard out in the open, with barricaded metal fences around it, chairs, a fireplace and bunk beds. The place was already inhabited by three people, it seemed.

Their cuffs were removed and they were left in the open. Tavia left, and Bonnie, Johnny and Troy stayed with the new people, to make sure they were settled.

"Y'all best get some rest, because there ain't gonna be much for you tomorrow." Johnny implied.

"Yep, you'll be working hard." Troy said, with a relaxed expression.

"Hey guys." A friendly-sounding voice greeted.

The group turned around to see a man. His skin was dark, and his hair started balding. He had gloomy eyes and a flat nose. Everyone would say that his vest with multiple pockets was probably being used by a fisherman. What was more impressing about the man, he only had one arm.

Troy looked at the new people, as he knew that they didn't know who Reggie was.

"This here's Reggie." Troy introduced the new person to the group. "He's been a member of our community for awhile and, he'll make sure y'all behave for the night." He turned around to face Reggie in the eyes. "Don't go fucking up now. Bill's real close to lettin' you outta here. You make sure things stay and quiet out here tonight, and I'll be sure to let Bill know just how helpful you were."

"Yeah, sure thing." Reggie said. "You can count on me. Thanks."

"Don't mention it." He said on a nicer tone, as he left with Bonnie and Johnny. "Good night." He said, when he pulled down the gate, imprisoning the group again.

A/N: And there's Chapter 1. This fanfic is set a little after the cabin group left Carver's camp, and the Motel group has to go through the harsh conditions on Carver's camp. Please favorite, review and follow!


	2. Chapter 2 - First Night

The Walking Dead: Camp Carver

Chapter 2 – First Night

The cold wind swept away in the yard of the large mall called Howe's. The sky was painted in dark shades of blue, showing that even though it was night, they weren't even close to midnight.

"We haven't been properly introduced." Reggie said, scratching the back of his head and approaching the new arrivals. "I'm Reggie. What're your names?"

"I'm Lee." He imposed, shaking Reggie's hand. "This here's Carley."

"Hi, Reggie." Carley greeted, questioning herself if he was a guard or someone just like them.

"There's Ben."

"Hello." Ben saluted, with his head downed and his arms crossed against his high school jacket.

"And then there's Kenny, and the two kids, Clementine and Duck." Lee concluded.

"Can you guys save it for the morning?!" Someone spoke loudly. The group turned to see a man with dark skin, looking at them angrily. "Some of us gotta get up early!" He complained.

"No problem. Sorry about that." Reggie excused.

The man didn't bother to respond, instead he grabbed his pillow and shoved it on top of his head.

"Okay, that's Mike." He presented the guy that was just yelling at him. "He's kind of a dick when he's tired. Carver put him to work outside the wall with me. That's when, well, this happened." Reggie explained, pointing at his stump from his missing arm. "He saved me, so, I put up with that shit."

"Who's that lady?" Clementine asked. He turned around to look at who Clementine was referring to. She was a woman who looked like she'd been through war. She had her face covered with mud, her hair was trimmed, and her clothes rather grimy. When she figured out they were talking about her, she got up from the table she was sitting at, and she went to lie down on a bedroll.

"Oh, yeah right." Their new guide acquainted. "She's fucking weird. They found her sneaking around outside of the camp covered in guts and just like, the grossest shit."

"It's think it's best not to stare." Carley advised, regarding the intimidating woman.

"I know how it must look, and I know that you still don't know anyone or anything here, but it's not that bad here." Reggie changed the subject, trying to appeal to the newcomers.

"How can this be 'not that bad'?! We got taken away from the place we were at!" Kenny argued. "And we're obligated to sleep out in the cold?! Pff."

"Look, I know how you must feel. But look, where are you going to find food like we have? We got the canned stuff, and now with the greenhouse coming along we got fresh food. The building's getting more and more secure all the time…mostly through forced labor, but that's only temporary." Reggie reasoned, hoping he'd convince some of the strangers to cooperate with Carver. "They've even got the solar panels working. When was the last time you had electricity?"

"In a very long time…" Lee said.

"See? We're building something great here. A real community. Bill's making it happen."

"This feels more like a prison." Ben opinioned.

"That's a very negative attitude, Ben." Reggie commented, displeased with Ben's disbelief.

"For once, the kid's fucking right." Kenny backed up the adolescent. "How can you like this place?"

"Listen, I'm really close to getting let back into the group. Once that happens, I can do a lot more to help you guys be more comfortable."

"Comfortable? What do you think this is?!" Kenny butted his head with Reggie again.

"I just don't want you to mess things up for me. I've worked really hard to get to this point. Will you please just try not to cause any trouble? At least until I'm out. Then, once I'm out I can help you more. Maybe even help you get out!" Reggie said. The entire group still felt suspicious in why he would help simple strangers like them.

"We'll try not to get you in trouble." Lee assured, folding his arms against his chest.

"Thank you. I've been nice to you, so all I ask is you do the same to everyone here. They're expecting me to keep things in line out here." Reggie told them with more authority.

"If Carver's such a great guy," Kenny mocked, even though he was serious. "I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."

"Look, we'll talk more in the morning. Just have a quiet night. You should be getting your first jobs tomorrow." Reggie completed.

"I'm gonna go do what he says. Sleep." Ben said, walking over to the row of bunks on the edge of the small yard. "Guess we'll be working in the morning."

"You're going to sleep too?" Lee inquired Carley.

"No, I'm going to sit by the fire. I'm freezing out here." She answered. "What about you?"

"I'm gonna stay awake for now. Have to verify that Clem feels comfortable."

"Okay. If you need anything, just say."

After some seconds of silence, Lee felt Clem pulling his hand.

"What is it?" Lee questioned, staring down.

"Do you have anything to draw?" She said. "I didn't bring my pencils."

"Oh, you can have this." Reggie intervened, removing a notebook and pencil from one of his pockets and giving it to Clementine. "You can draw all you want."

"Ain't that kind of you." Lee said at Reggie. "Remember to thank him, sweet pea."

"Thank you." Clem thanked the one arm man, before walking over to one of the bunks and sitting in one of them, drawing.

"So…is she your daughter?"

"No, not really. It's…a long story." Lee clarified.

"Ah. Okay." He finished awkwardly, then walked away to the fireplace.

"Duck, why don't you go draw with Clementine?" Kenny proposed to his son,

"Alright!" Duck joyfully agreed, and ran to play with Clem.

"I keep getting surprised on how that boy is always cheerful. Thank God for that." Kenny chuckled. "Do you think this guy, 'Reggie', is trustworthy?" Kenny enquired Lee's opinion.

"He's good to the children, he's nice to everybody." Lee stated without hesitation. "For all we know, he's just someone like us."

"Maybe, but unlike everybody else, he actually seems to worship that asshole, Bill, or Carver, whatever his name." Kenny responded with concern. "If it comes for us to finding a way outta here, he might be an obstacle."

Lee remained silent. Reggie had strictly asked them not to mess up, and not to give him trouble. They had been given a big hospitality by him, and Lee wouldn't feel good if something bad happened to him because of their plans.

"We're not living in a good place, Lee. They took Katjaa, and God knows what they're doing to her." Kenny expressed his worry.

"She'll be okay, man, she'll be back before you know it." He consoled his mustached friend. "What do you have in mind?" Lee inquired, his arms always pressed against his blue shirt.

"Time is short. I'll go run interference on Reg'. You gotta take a look around. We gotta know if there's anything we can exploit to get outta here." Kenny explicated with detail, ready to go distract Reggie.

"Wait." Lee stopped him. "Don't tell anyone about out plan, okay?"

"You mean even to our people? Why?" He demanded curious.

"Before we got taken, I found a bag of medicine outside the Motel wall. Somebody of our group was trading supplies with these people. So if word gets out to that person, he or she might as well go snitch to Carver, or Bill, about our getaway." He explained carefully.

"Jesus…our group isn't that big, we gotta find whoever it is. But right now, we gotta focus on this." Kenny told Lee.

The duo of pals separated and both went their separate ways. Lee spotted from the corner of his eye Kenny and Reggie talking, keeping him distracted. Time to act.

He walked over to the west side of the yard. There, there was a small improvised tent, and underneath was Mike sleeping. He wore clothes in very bad state, and his ear was cut in half.

"Hello?" Lee tried to greet him.

"Get lost." He retorted, not wanting to be bothered.

Near Mike's sleeping place, there was a tall fish statue. Lee drew near the object and examined it.

"It seems heavy. And useless." Lee said to himself.

To his right, there was that strange woman Reggie was talking about. This time, he didn't need to talk, he stared at her, then she threw back the most psychopathic look he had ever seen. He took some steps back and went to look for something else that might be useful.

Lee got surprised when he heard a somewhat loud noise. He turned his head to see Ben laying in one of the bunk beds, snoring profoundly.

"Who's the asshole growling over there?!" Mike shouted with all his soul.

Ben, in a deep coma, couldn't stop making noise, as he didn't have consciousness. Mike decided to ignore him, as he was too tired to get up and punch Ben.

Lee forgot about Ben and moved on towards the barricaded metal fence. The wooden planks tightly nailed to it had various gaps between them, but they were to sturdy to remove by hand.

The urban man analyzed his surroundings, seeing that he was running out of options. Until he saw in the corner a ladder that reached only halfway of the wall, and an improvised crane made out of a wooden plank, with a hook attached to a rope hanging near the so mentioned ladder.

Lee turned around, but then he saw Kenny walking in his direction.

"Did you find anything?" He eagerly asked.

"I was wondering about that ladder." He coldly answered. "Where do you think it leads?"

Kenny turned around to look at their possible exit.

"I'd guess the rooftops." He responded, with his eyes wide open. "I think we found a possible escape route. But the problem is, someone needs to climb on that rope to reach the ladder. Only Duck or Clementine can mount the rope without breaking it."

In a matter of seconds, the gate rose, and Troy appeared, leading Katjaa back in the pen.

"Kat!" Kenny exclaimed as he ran towards her and hugged her. "Are you okay? Did they hurt ya?" He asked all the questions in a row.

"I'm good." She said, assuring her husband. "They only wanted me as their doctor."

"Doctor? Wait, but how do they…?"

"Alright, go the fuck to sleep!" Troy shouted. "I'm shootin' the first one of y'all I see wanderin' around before sun-up. Everybody get to bed!" And like that, he made his way out of the pen and sealed the entrance.

"Which bed should I choose?" Clementine asked Lee.

"You can choose the bunk you want." He replied with a big smile.

"Can I sleep on top?"

"Sure thing. Just be careful not to fall off in the middle of the night."

In a minute, everyone had already choose a mattress to sleep in. Ahead of going to sleep, Kenny whispered to Lee.

"We gotta a problem" Kenny got Lee's attention.

"What is it?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Kat told me that they knew she was a vet, even though she didn't tell them squat. They've been watching us, Lee. For a long time."

Lee was petrified. He remembered all the days he had spent in the Motel. Someone was watching all along. The thought itself made his shiver.

"On another note." Kenny continued. "Some of these folks ain't too keen on leavin'. It's up to us to figure a way outta here. You up for it?"

"Hell yeah man." Lee whispered.

"Shouldn't even have asked." Kenny said as he laid down to sleep. They had a long day ahead of them, where they would work as dogs.


	3. Chapter 3 - Tough Teaching

Quick Note: I'm very sorry for the delay! I've had my mind full and I couldn't find the time to write! I intended to make this chapter triple longer, but thought that then it would take to much time to get it in time finished. Enjoy and thanks for the support!

The Walking Dead: Camp Carver

Chapter 3 – Tough Teaching

Lee's dream of his ex-wife was interrupted by Troy kicking him in the stomach. He opened his eyes, and he spotted his smug ass face staring back at him from high above.

"Get up. Bill's gonna have a word." He told Lee, looking like he was still somnolent. "Wake up your daughter, or I'll do it for ya."

Lee got up and he went away to wake up Clementine. Another nightmare about the hideous night where he had committed the worst mistake in his life. Not that it would matter much now. Clementine wasn't bothered by the sudden wake up call, and everyone gathered in a half- circle near Carver, who was entering the yard and was followed by Tavia, Johnny, a guy with a beanie and sweat-shirt called Lowell and apparently Troy, his right arm.

Carver looked around to verify that everybody was present. When he checked that there was no one missing, he didn't wait to start his speech.

"There's been increased walker activity along the fence, so be mindful when walking outside the walls." Carver warned, with his hands in his hips. Lee spotted the crazy woman on top of the roof, carrying a bag of dirt on the make shift crane. "The herd's moved a little close as of this morning, but that still doesn't necessarily mean we'll be hit. Know we're monitoring the situation. Now…" Carver said, catching his breath. "You folks might be sore about what happened. At how things went. Well that's all in the past now. Some of you are members of our community. Some of you are members who went astray. But know that you can find redemption here. Forgiveness… by proving your worth through what will be undoubtedly hard work." Carver said, as he gazed Reggie. "Reggie, you're nearly back in. Keep following the path, and we'll welcome you back with open arms." Bill felicitated, suspending his arms like he was about to give someone a hug. Reggie couldn't avoid dropping a smile.

Lee suddenly heard some noise. A kid's voice. He looked down at Clementine. She was quiet and attentive to the dialect. Then Lee spotted Duck bothering his father on the other side of the yard. He turned his head towards Bill, and he showed in his face that the infant's interruption upset him. He shrugged it off and continued his discourse.

Very soon after, Duck wouldn't calm down, and Carver was forced to stop his speech.

"Kenny, Katjaa!" He called the couple's attention. It could be seen in Kenny Jr.'s eyes that he realized the mistake he made.

"Yes?" Kenny said. Katjaa felt too intimidated by the man to say anything.

"Your child seems to be in need of correction." Carver clarified.

"My excuses, sir." Kenny said, not being able to avoid sounding a bit mocking. Usually, he would tell Carver to shove his thumb up his ass, but if there was the chance of him hurting his son over some lack of politeness, he wasn't gonna take risks. "Duck, apologize to the man."

"I'm…I'm sorry." He shyly said.

"No no. That ain't gonna cut it." Carver alleged firmly. "I can't have this kind of behavior on day one of your reform. You discipline her now Kenny. It's a man's job to educate his son." He pointed his finger for Kenny. It was clear that he was sadistic, and took pleasure in other's suffering.

"Can you give me your wise advice on how I should…" Kenny said as he searched the most educated vocabulary he could think of.

"A good smack across the mouth should do it!" He shouted louder, as he wanted everyone to hear him and see this as an example. "It'll make him think twice before opening it up."

Silence devastated the space they were at. Everyone had their eyes wide open. It was true Carver knew how to set an ambience.

"I'll do it!" Katjaa imposed, hoping her slap wouldn't hurt as much.

"Hey, no one's fuckin' talkin' to you!" Johnny shut her up, as he walked forward. Bill raised a hand, making him stop dead on his tracks.

"Unless you want one of which he's about to get, only worse, I'd pipe down, Miss." He threatened. "C'mon." Carver focused on Kenny. "And not some namby pamby thing, alright? A good hard smack." He exemplified, by shaking his hand in the air. "Otherwise, Troy here will do it for ya. I don't think you want that. He can be overzealous. Is that the word?"

"If it means I'll slap the shit out of him, then yeah." He calmly pronounced, frightening Duck by regarding him with his eyes narrowed.

Kenny looked at Duck in horror. His little face showed that he was scared for real, his legs were shaking and his jaw trembling. He couldn't do it.

"Do it." Carver encouraged.

"I'm not doing it. You can't force me to!" Kenny screamed at Bill, as his face expressed anger.

"That was a direct order! It's your obligation to…"

All of the sudden, Kenny charged towards Bill. Carver, predicting this move, dodged out of the way and punched him in the stomach. Kenny ignored the pain and tried to beat Carver, but before he could recover, he was hit in the face by Bill with the handle of his revolver. He was stunned and dizzy, but Carver didn't hesitate to elbow him in the side of the skull, making him heavily drop on the floor. Katjaa began to run to Kenny, but one of Carver's goons appeared and grabbed her, and she couldn't push away from Lowell's force.

"Troy, do your thing." He ordered, as he brutally kicked the mustached man.

"I'm gonna have fun with this!" He exclaimed, smiling without control. He advanced near Duck. He tried to run away as he hollered, but Troy gripped him tightly by the wrist. He stringed his AK-47 on his back, and elevated his hand for the slap.

"Lee!" Kenny yelled, with his remaining forces. "Do somethin'!"

Lee was afraid to get killed, but he couldn't let this evil to be carried out.

"Stay here Clem." Lee talked to Clementine, before running towards Carver like a rugby player. Bill quickly pulled out his revolver and shot near Lee's feet, making him paralyze and recoil.

"Everybody back, EVERYBODY!" Carver waved his pistol; the crowd was starting to lose control. Everything was quiet now, except for Katjaa who screamed and twitched in Lowell's arms. So, Troy downed his hand and hit Duck so hard that the sound echoed through the entire mall. Duck fell to ground, sobbing loudly while lying down. Even Tavia was shocked to see the drama that just had occurred. "Tavia, take the vet to her post. Punish her if she refuses to fulfill her duties."

The woman didn't hesitate and pulled the veterinarian to come with her. Katjaa still struggled to try getting near her son, but eventually she got carried away with Tavia.

"All the noise ought'a alert every goddamn' lurker around. Johnny, warn the guards to keep watch on the horde." Carver commanded. Johnny then rushed out of the yard to go talk to his fellow keep watchers. "First day and you're already causing this mess." He despised the newcomers, before reloading the bullet he had used onto his revolver, and holstering it. He started wondering if the new manpower was actually going to be more trouble than help.

Nobody dared to respond. Seeing that nobody had any opinions, Carver proceeded to assigning tasks.

"You." Carver focused on Lee, as he read a paper sheet clipped on a clipboard. "You're working outside the wall with Mike."

"What about the girl?" He asked, pointing to Clementine.

"Don't worry, she'll be busy." Lee got slightly concerned. "She'll be filling magazines with bullets. You." Carver bent his head towards Carley. "You're working in the greenhouse. And the teen." Carver didn't took his eyes off the clipboard, since Ben was the only teenager in the group. "I'd like to see you in my office."

A wave of intrigue stroke the group. Why wasn't Ben working like them? And what did Bill Carver wanted to do with him?

"Everybody get to work!" Carver shouted.

"Sir, what do I do with the hillbilly?" Troy asked for Carver's orders.

"Lowell will drag his ass to the nurse's station. Capisce?" He acknowledged.

"Yessir. What about the cryin' boy?" He queried, shaking his shoulders.

"Leave him here, alone. As a lesson."

"Are you gonna leave?" Clementine enquired Lee, sad that the two would have to separate.

"I'm sorry, sweet pea, I have to." Lee responded, as he curved to Clem's height. His face was twitched in agony. "You're gonna be just fine. Don't wander off, follow and respect the men around here. We'll see each other later, okay?"

Clementine didn't talk back, instead she hasted to Lee and hugged him. Even though it was unexpected, Lee hugged her back.

"It's time to go." Mike said, tapping Lee's shoulder. "Don't stall, c'mon, hurry up!"

Lee slowly let go of Clementine. Tavia then arrived from leading Katjaa into the infirmary, and she approached Clem.

"You're working in the armory. Follow me." She told Clementine.

"Be…be nice to her, okay?" Lee pleaded.

"Whatever, c'mon." She answered without a care. Lee felt his chest burning as he saw Clementine disappear out of his sight, but his sadness quickly turned into anger.

"C'mon!" Mike whined at Lee. "If we don't get to work, don't expect to have lunch!"


	4. Chapter 4 - Tempers And Temperatures

Quick Note: To excuse my delay on the previous chapter, I made this part longer and uploaded sooner. I already wrote the beggining of Chapter 5, so expect it to come out soon too! Thanks for all the current support!

The Walking Dead

Chapter 4 - Tempers And Temperatures

Ben couldn't stop feeling his body temperature rising and his sweat sliding down his skin. After all, anyone would be nervous sitting in front of Carver's desk.

He was immersed in a large stuffed chair that molded according to his form. The desk before his eyes was as tidy as an apocalyptic bureau can be, like the rest of his office. While half of the room seemed like the home of a business man, with books, dossiers with papers, a mug saying "World's Best Boss" filled with a black liquid, and an occasional bowl of apples, in the corner there was a surgical chair, and the floor and walls were covered in transparent plastic sheets, along with a tray of medical tools. Carver was peeking out his large window on the wall, his back facing Ben.

"I always dreamed of power." Carver confessed, still staring out the window. "I always wanted to run a company. Have a thousand workers following my orders. I've been told to watch out with what I wish for, and now I got this. Most stressful job with the world."

Carver turned around, sat in his special chair and interlaced his fingers.

"Why…why'd you bring me here?" Ben stuttered, almost choking under the pressure.

"We need to talk. About our deal." He elucidated, staggering Ben with his death look.

"Look, I've been giving you that medicine you were in short supply. You told me you wouldn't go near my people." He stated, trying not to say the wrong words. "Plus, you said you'd give me my friend."

Carver was silenced for some seconds.

"It's true. I said all that." Carver separated his hands and started twiddling his thumbs, while looking toward the roof. "I saw you all in that trash motel. Your discussions about where to get supplies. Your arguments on whether leaving or staying in Macon. I saw you struggling against bandits. The truth is, you're safe here."

Ben didn't respond. He simply stared at his feet, as his face showed discomfort.

"This community offers you everything. Power, food, safety. Anything you can dream about these days. But we can't have people doin' nothing while others work to take care for weak people. Everyone needs to pull their own weight, everyone needs to contribute. It's like a scale. If everybody furnishes to the community, it's balanced. If we got people laying around, doing nothing, the balance is broken, and our camp falls apart. Get me?"

"Yes." Ben said. He didn't know what else to say that wouldn't piss off Carver.

"I know what you're thinking." Carver predicted, sipping from his mug. "Worst coffee I've ever drank. But it's the only one we got. Anyway, I know you're thinking about what happened this morning. The fact is, that boy is spoiled, and we can't have that around here. Weakness causes the death of others. Like I explained."

"What happened to my friend?" Ben changed the subject, now folding his arms.

"That's where we have a problem." Carver explained, setting down his mug, half-empty.

Ben felt like he was being strangled. He was afraid he would have a heart attack if he didn't calm down.

"I liked your friend, a good worker, responsible, kept a low profile. A true example. I got your friend to work on the infirmary." Carver started rambling. "She was fixing up one of our men who had returned from a supply run. He was bit, and none of us could see it. It was your friend's turn to stay in the infirmary overnight. Someone heard a scream. Four men went in and saw your friend being devoured."

"Oh god, no." Ben mumbled, as he buried his face in his hand, and shed some tears.

"Stand up like a man! Lift your head!" Carver shouted at Ben, as his humor flipped to his dark side. "Weak people can't be tolerated! People die every day, get fuckin' used to it! You don't see me rolled in a corner cryin' my eyes out!"

"Please, just let me and my group go." Ben begged.

"Begging isn't gonna get you anywhere. If some sick fuck happens to get you, imploring for your life won't do anything! You want something, you work hard for it. Your friends aren't leaving. Your friends and you need to make up for the mess they made this morning. And that's the end of our conversation. You'll be working with your friend in the greenhouse. What's her name? Carol? Carla?"

Ben continued to mourn the loss of his precious friend. Carver got tired of it as it was an incompetent's attitude. He got up discretely, neared himself Ben, and punched him on the cheek, making him fall on the floor, taking his chair down with him. The seat fell with a loud and muffled noise.

"You make me sick. You're weaker than a worm. You'll never make it if you don't grow up!" He reprehended, as he grabbed his walkie-talkie. "Carver here." He said to the radio. "Tavia, I need to come here and show our friend his way to the greenhouse. Carver out."

Bill laid his walkie-talkie in his jeans. He looked back at Ben with disgust.

"Don't worry. This camp will make you a man."

Tavia appeared in the following minute and led Ben out the door, leaving the room empty expect for Carver. Carver bent down and placed the chair in its normal position.

"God help me, if my kid turns out to be like this."

OOO

Lee and Mike exited through a door that passed on the outside of Howe's. A small perimeter had been covered with fences. On the other side of the barricades, walkers were pushing through. Lee imagined him walking in the small aisle, and a piece of the fence falling off, making all the zombies fall on top of him, like the door fell on him when he went to the pharmacy with Kenny, before they were snatched up.

"You there! Hurry up!" Troy hollered from the top of the rooftop, where he was monitoring the fences. "Just follow them cables!"

Mike walked at a slow pace, while Lee rushed to get away from this unnerving scenario. They walked inside a chamber covered with tools, wooden planks, and a long row of windows covered in wood boards. Having too many windows was never good.

"What we have to do is really freakin' simple." Mike explained. "You get a hammer, nails and a hacksaw, and you barricade anything that lurkers can use to get in here. You barricade until this place is fucking safe, and you replace anything that might be broken."

"Yeah, I got it."

"And don't dare to fuck up. Bill wants this shit done by supper time." Mike adverted, as he forced a hammer in Lee's hand.

Lee supposed he would go and cut boards. Mike did leave him with vague orders. He placed a large chunk of wood on a workbench, and started slashing through it with a hacksaw. A couple minutes later, Lowell pushed the door open, and let Kenny pass. He had some bruises in his face and a long chop on the side of his skull that was covered by a bandage.

"Yo, redneck. Try not to fuck up everything like you did earlier, okay? You already caused enough trouble." He warned, as he left the room.

Mike didn't bother to greet him.

"Kenneth, go and get some lamps on the back room. This is gonna get dark when we cover the windows." Mike ordered.

Kenny didn't react well to giving him bossing him around, so he tackled Mike against one of the obstructed windows and placed his arm in front of his neck. The bump made some planks fall and Mike knocked over a bucket with nails and two hammers.

"I ain't nobody's laborer, fuck that! Let 'em do this shit themselves if it's so goddamn' important!"

"Get your fucking hands off me man!" Mike told Kenny, as Lee got in between them and tried to set them apart.

"You ain't gonna force me to do this bullshit!" Kenny shouted like he had a raging bull inside him.

"I just want to get the fuckin' job done. You better fuckin' get to work!" Mike threatened.

"Or what? You're gonna go tell on me?!" Kenny mocked.

"FUCKING CALM DOWN!" Lee roared. "Kenny, you need to chill!"

"I want to, Lee, but this son of a bitch keeps testing me!"

Lee gripped Kenny by his shoulders and separated him from Mike.

"GODDAMMIT, KENNY! I don't like this just as you, but I have Clementine here and our entire group!" Lee thundered again. "If you keep fucking everything up, don't expect us to make it fucking alive!"

"You selfish urban asshole!" Kenny insinuated. "My family's been through enough already with the St. Johns, and now this! What're ya doing now, kissing Bill's ass?!"

The three men shut up. That moment, the door opened again. Mike feared it was Carver who had heard the commotion, and came to see the mess they made. It wasn't him, but it was Troy.

"What the fuck is goin' on here?!" He clamored, spotting the fallen boards and the spilled bucket.. "Oh, Bill's gonna love when he hears about the shit y'all did here!"

That moment, the wood hanging on the window Kenny had Mike forced against collapsed and broke the glass, allowing the hungry walkers outside to waltz right in. They sloppily passed their legs over the edge, and the ones that didn't have enough coordination fell over like dominos.

"Great fuckin' job! Get the fuck outta here!" Troy ordered, as everybody ran towards the door. Troy didn't want to, but he only had the choice to empty four bullets in a couple of walkers that were trying to get his delicious flesh. Then he plunged out the door.

Outside, Troy thought of putting his rifle in the door handle to block it, but there was only one door handle. The lurkers on the opposite side of the improvised fence were beating it down angrier since they had heard the gun shots. He feared that he would lose control of the situation, because there were three prisoners and one guard, and someone needed to keep order in the three workers while holding down the door. To his luck, Lowell appeared to aid him.

"What happened? I heard gunfire!" He inquired.

"Lurkers found their way inside! Help me keep 'em back!" He ordered at him.

"Shouldn't we call backup?!" He suggested, as he weighed himself against the pounded door on the other side by zombies.

"No time! We'll do it later!" He answered, struggling to resist the horde's force. "You assholes, come help us!" He screamed at Mike, Kenny and Lee. They didn't like the idea of helping these idiots, but they would lose more if walkers invaded the area. The five men constrained their bodies to the door, and even though their combined power made it easier, the zombies continued to accumulate.

Lowell and Troy kept throwing words at each other about the best strategy, but Lee wasn't hearing them because he saw an arm calling him from the entrance of a comic book store. He thought it was a lurker that managed to get there, but then he saw a familiar face; Lilly's.

They recoiled with a sudden strong push from the horde, and the men wrestled to protect the entrance, but the walkers that were battering on the fence had now noticed the way in, and the lurkers didn't stop coming.

"It's fuckin' useless, Troy!" Lowell realized, his muscles starting to get sore and fatigued. "We gotta save our asses!"

"We can't run, you coward!" He replied, crushing the door with his corpse. "If we run, this entire section with be fuckin' overwhelmed! Do ya know how much time it'll take to clear them?!"

"There's no other way out, Troy boy!" He insisted.

"What about we have that backup you're talkin' about?!"

"They won't get here in time now!"

"But some of 'em might have heard the shot!" Troy replied.

"If they had heard, don't ya think they'd be here by…"

They were interrupted as the horde finally had gained the strength to open the door, making everyone trip on the floor.

"Go, GO GO!" Lowell shouted, as he and Troy shot at the walkers and walked backwards at the same time. Kenny, Mike and Lee ran towards the emergency exit to get to safety, but Lee couldn't ignore Lilly on the comic book store. He heeled and he entered it.

"What the fuck are ya doin'?" Kenny asked from a couple feet away from him.

"I'll tell ya later. Just go! Trust me on this!" He assured. Kenny shrugged and kept running.

Inside, the light was dim. Most of the bookshelves were empty, expect for some that still had comic books, like "The Walking Dead", "Mickey" and "Batman". Lilly was inside, her eyes seemed heavy and tired. He had a large backpack hanging from her shoulders, and her skin reflexed the sun light, probably because she had been sweating.

"Thank God you're okay." Lilly said, crouching. "What's with all the noise outside?!"

"I don't have much time. There are walkers coming, and I gotta hurry if I don't want to get eaten!" Lee explained.

"Shit. We gotta skip the greetings, I have a plan."

"What is it?"

"I noticed that these fuckers all carry walkie-talkies. Get me one of 'em, and I can inform you guys about opportunities to break out."

"Sounds good." Lee said. He needed to leave, but he had to check how things were going. "How's the motel?"

"I'm sorry Lee, but I left the Motel. I grabbed any supplies I could carry, then I looked nonstop for an entrance. I haven't had a night's sleep since y'all got abducted."

"Shit, I'm out!" A voice talked outside.

"Fuck, me too! Let's go." Another voice spoke, as the gunfire sound ceased and hurtled foot steps' sound began.

"Dammit, I gotta go." Lee recognized.

"Take this." Lilly offered Lee a small survival knife. "I'd give ya a gun, but they would probably notice it."

"How are you gonna take care of the walkers?!"

"It's okay. I found this unprotected hole, I'll simple go."

"But where will we meet again? This place will be crowded with zombies by tomorrow."

"Oh shit, I didn't think of that. Is there, like, a guard that might be able to slip me the walkie-talkie? Someone you trust?"

"I think so." Lee said, remembering Reggie.

"Good. I'll be on the Northwest side."

Lee didn't say another word; he didn't have time to. He nodded in appreciation, and he exited the dark room. He bumped into Lowell and Troy. He prepared for a severe beating.

"I don't know what ya were doin' inside, but we'll talk later. Now we gotta go!" Troy howled.


	5. Chapter 5 - Mission Impossible

The Walking Dead Camp Carver

Chapter 5 – Mission Impossible

Carley had been led through an emergency exit that followed onto a rooftop. She had spotted several speakers outside the walls, and she was thrown inside a greenhouse. The place was decorated in various colors, coming from the variety of plants and herbs that were cultivated there and nurtured by the morning sun that penetrated the windows. Most of the plants were already fully grown, and seemed ready to have their fruits and flowers harvested.

A couple minutes later, Tavia appeared through the door Reggie and Ben followed her inside.

"Don't mess this up." Tavia adverted.

"Yeah, no problem Tavia." Reggie said with his everlasting smile. Tavia narrowed her eyes and exited. "Okay guys, we gotta do a good job. The camp's counting on us. Come on, I'll show you what to do. It's super easy."

Reggie wandered over to a row of berry plants, while Carley noticed Ben seemed a bit off.

"Pick up a pair of those shears." Reggie demonstrated, grabbing a pair of scissors. "Okay, so we're picking these berries right? You just pick them, put them in the basket. Simple. While you're at it, if you see any dead branches, take those shears and cut them off, and stack them neatly for composting. Got it?"

"Yeah." Carley said, while Ben just nodded.

Carley started doing her share of plants. It was quite a simple job. Put berries in basket, remove dead branches. Doing swift and delicate cuts, she was done with the first plant in almost a minute. She noticed that Ben still hadn't finished with the first vase. He was being very slow and looked confused and hesitated in what he should cut. Her thoughts were interrupted by Reggie who went to talk to her.

"Hey, so…is Ben gonna be okay? Looks like he's had a rainy day." Reggie whispered. "Do you know what happened to him?"

"I'm not sure. Something musta've happened when he went to talk with Bill, or Carver." She answered.

"Yeah, Bill can be a bit rough sometimes." Reggie felt sorry for the kid. "Well, can you go and…help him? Bill's had it out for me ever since I helped the previous guys escape, so I gotta concentrate on my work." Carley thought about this. She and Ben never really talked that much, but she trusted him. Excluding Lee, she was the only one that thought bringing the teen to the group was a good idea. Plus, it was easy to forget that he was just a kid, and times like these can be difficult for people like him.

"Sure thing. I'll help him." Carley assured.

"Thanks, Carley. I knew I could count on ya. I'm gonna go work now." He smiled as he departed to do his work. Carley set down her shears and spoke to Ben.

"Are you okay? Is everything alright?" Carley asked.

"Nothing, it's just…he's a…it's nothing." Ben explained, as he turned away his head. Ever since he had given supplies to the bandits, he couldn't do eye contact with his group. His chest burned, he had to confess right now. The only reason he really didn't confess back at the Motel was because he was afraid at how Lilly and Kenny would react. They would kick him out to die or even pull the gun on him.

"Okay." Carley said. She didn't know what else to tell him. "Do you want help -"

"I'm the reason we're here!" Ben spit out loudly. Reggie heard it, but shrugged it off and continued to do his work. Carley frowned and opened her eyes wide, as she processed what she had just heard.

"What? What the hell does that mean?!" Carley inquired.

Ben sighed. "Look, you have to understand, I didn't have a choice! Some of these guys caught me alone, and said they had my friend! If I didn't give them supplies they'd kill her!"

"Jesus Ben!" Carley admonished. "Couldn't you see that they were lying?!"

"But it was true!" Ben retaliated, getting more nervous and stressed. "When I went to talk with that guy, Carver or Bill, he told me she had died."

"Did you see a body?" Carley demanded, folding her arms.

"No, but…it doesn't matter. If I hadn't given the medicine to those assholes, they woulda've killed me and gunned the Motel! I was trying to keep us safe until Kenny would fix the RV!"

Ben noticed something. Carley's facial expression became blank in seconds. Ben swept his arm through his forehead to clean the sweat.

"Please, don't go and tell the others! They'll flip." Ben pleaded.

"Ben, hear me. I'm not sure if this is something I can hide from the group." She sorrowfully explained. "I know you wanted to protect the group, and the others might be pissed at you, but it's better that you tell them now, before they discover it by someone else."

She shut up. She turned around and went to do some gardening. Ben felt slightly relieved, but now he felt like trash.

Half hour passed by and Carley's share of plants was done. Ben had finally managed to harvest fruits on his own, but he wasn't done with half yet. Then Bill's face emerged from the emergency exit outside the greenhouse; he was coming to check on their work.

"Oh no." Ben muttered.

"Oh shit!" Reggie murmured. "You didn't finish your work, Ben! And…are those good branches you cut off?!" Reggie enquired as he looked in horror. Indeed, there was a small stack of branches that were in fine condition, but they were cut off.

"They…they looked kinda brownish!" Ben nervously clarified.

"Shit, shit, this is fuckin' bad!" Reggie profaned as he pulled out his hair.

"Just checking in. See how the newcomers are…" The door flew open.

An electric sizzle was heard, coming from Carver's walkie-talkie. He quickly retrieved it.

"Carver here."

"Bill, we got an enormous fucking problem!" The voice shouted. Bill grinded his teeth.

"What the fuck is now?"

"The whole outside sector, lurkers got in. It's full of 'em!"

"Holy shit." Carver exclaimed, expressing for the very first time worry. "How the fuck did that happen?!"

"It were those two assholes, the redneck and his urban friend, that tagged along with Mike."

Carver's muscles tightened. He squeezed the radio.

"Take everyone back to the yard. I've had enough of this shit."

"Yes sir."

"Carver out." Bill hid the walkie-talkie back in his trousers. "I'll send someone to get you back to your home. I got things to do now."

Carver walked out and slammed the door on his way out. Everyone in the greenhouse was petrified.

"That was way too close." Ben pronounced.

"Ben, go do your work, and Carley, help him!" Reggie ordered. "We gotta clean this mess up!"

OOO

Supper time arrived. It was an eerie yet calm night. The moaning of zombies was heard faintly in the wind. Everyone was gathered in the yard. Jane drank from a half empty water bottle in a dark corner all alone. Katjaa took care of her traumatized son, who surprisingly, wasn't crying anymore. That infant was progressively growing up and transforming into something very different from the wild and cheerful child he was. The adolescent too was sitting with the group, although he didn't participate in the discussion. He was finding out a good moment to tell the group. He stared at Clementine that was sitting a couple feet away from Duck and occasionally asking Katjaa if he was okay. Clementine was the only person that befriended Ben. The others usually tossed him aside, and saw him as a worthless punk. If she knew what he had done, would she still be friends with him?

Mike, Lee, Kenny, Reggie, Carley and Katjaa with her son were sitting around the fireplace discussing a way to get out.

"Okay, we got some free time and Troy's gone. We gotta come up with a plan!" Kenny said, sitting next to his family.

"Fuck you, Kenneth." Mike said, leaning on his knees. "With the shit that happened outside because of you, these idiots are gonna keep a tight leash on us."

"I'm not fuckin' submitting to do some stupid labor, and not less let ya boss me around!" He replied.

"I was tryin' to get the fuckin' job done." Mike repeated for the fifth time that day.

"Did you see what Bill did this morning to my kid?! Who knows that son of a bitch's next move!"

"You assholes just don't get it." Mike shook his head.

"Oh, I understand just fine. All it takes is a bone in his pocket and y'all smell his ass without a second thought!" Kenny mocked.

"Look, guys, just calm the fuck down. We won't get anywhere by arguing." Lee said, waving his arms. "Lilly came to me when we were outside Howe's. She thinks we should get her a walkie-talkie."

"I told you Lilly's plan was better!" Carley voiced.

"Wait, you all knew?" Lee asked, surprised.

"She found her way and told us about it through the fence." Carley explained.

"I could go for Lilly's scheme." Katjaa agreed.

"Now hold on just a second." Kenny interrupted. "How in the hell's that supposed to work?!"

"It might be easy. We learn their patrols, their break times…then we wait for an opening." Carley reasoned.

"Who knows when that'll be." Kenny argued like an attorney in a trial.

"Hmm…he's right. They seem to have lots of people here." Katjaa supported her husband. "They must have constantly someone patrolling."

"Thank you, honey." Kenny smiled.

"Michael, Reggie." Katjaa called out. "You've been here a while now. Do you know any way we can escape?"

"Well, there are some tunnels that pass through the comic book store Lee mentioned." Reggie said, scratching his balding head. "There was this other group before that I helped escape. They managed to get out through that way."

"Why didn't you go with 'em?" Carley questioned.

"It's a long story, and there's no time." Reggie clarified, looking somewhat depressed.

"Why didn't ya say it before?!" Kenny's smile grew. "Looks like we gotta plan!"

"You have a shit fucking memory, Kenny. That place is now crawling with lurkers because of you." Mike recalled.

"So, we get some guns and shoot our way outta here!" Kenny suggested.

"Look, even if we could get weapons and fight through the walkers, how are gonna get through the guards?" Lee said.

"Lee has a point. Between those tunnels and us, there are gonna be a shit ton of armed guards." Carley alleged, reclined in her camping chair.

"We need to find a distraction." Lee observed. "Got any ideas, Reggie?"

"Well, there is the PA system up in Carver's office." He proposed. "It was used to do announcements back in the day. Carver uses it to do his speeches. There are speakers all around the mall. If we turn it on, the speakers will start emitting recorded messages over and over."

"Is it loud enough?" Lee asked, as he sounded a bit enthusiastic.

"Pretty loud." Reggie certified, smiling.

"I saw some speakers when we went to the greenhouse." Carley voiced.

"Then that's it! We get the fuckin' PA system on, distract them guards, then we breach through the walkers!" Kenny asserted.

"We still have some problems though." Lee affirmed. "Who will turn on the PA system? Plus, what about that walker horde Carver mentioned? Won't it be attracted over to us by the noise?"

"One of us would have been able to get up there and turn 'em on." Mike enunciated. "But Jane fuckin' broke the crane. Only one of the kids can get up there."

Nobody had the courage to speak. It was a very risky maneuver. Clementine had freed them from the meat locker back at the dairy, but it was all about unlocking a door. Here she would have to sneak her way through guards and get in Carver's office. If she was caught, everything would go to shit. And Duck, well…

"Look, everyone here is thinking about strolling through a herd of walkers. But what if we just got Lilly a radio?" Lee advised.

"If we go with that plan," Mike informed. "One of the kids would still have to climb up there to steal two walkie-talkies."

"Even if we did got those radios and turned the PA system, I still don't think that we'll manage to survive the lurkers." Reggie opinionated. "It'll be impossible to walk through 'em!"

"Actually, I do it all the time." Jane said, as she appeared from the shadows like a ghost.

"First words I ever hear you say and it's just some crazy, stupid shit." Mike commented, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Hush. What do you mean exactly?" Katjaa enquired.

"When you cover yourselves in their smell…rub the walker guts all over you, they can't tell you from one of them."

"Now I don't know who's crazier." Mike said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Trust me. I've walked through herds before. It works. You just have to keep calm, and make sure you're good and covered."

"You seem to know what you're talking about." Katjaa observed.

"This is nuts." Mike remarked. He didn't believe that everyone trusted this crazy woman that simply came out of the shadows.

"No, it's not. It's perfect." Kenny noted, standing up from his seat. "Everything's set. Let's go get that stupid radio!"

"But we still have to decide how to get in the stock room, and who's gonna do it." Mike noticed.

"I got a plan for that too." Jane justified. "Come on kid." She beckoned at Clementine.

"Wait just a sec!" Lee yelled lowly. "She's eight for Christ's sake!"

"She's the only one whose weight won't break the crane." Jane calmly reasoned.

"How about me? I'm not that heavy…" Carley proposed.

"We can't risk it. That crane breaks, our getaway goes down the pipe. And no one in here is tall enough to reach the ladder."

Lee approached Clementine. He was surprised and fearful on how many times that brave girl had helped them. It hurt him to send her on perilous tasks like these, but it had to be done.

"Do you think you can do it? You're not forced to…" Lee demanded the girl's opinion.

"I can do it…it'll be just like at the meat locker, right?" Clementine agreed, trying to look courageous, even though she was frightened.

"Kinda. It'll be alright. Crouch down and don't make a sound." Lee hugged the little girl.

"You have to drop from one of skylights. You won't fall to your death, there are shelves and shit for you to land on." Jane guided.

Lee followed Jane as she led her to the crane. The rope was halfway hanging from the ground, so someone had to pull it down.

"Where the hell'd she come from?" Kenny smirked.

"I'll boost her." Lee offered. He grabbed Clementine by her waist and elevated her in the air. She lent her arm up high, and she reached the rope. She slid it down until it touched the ground. Lee gently lowered his arms and set her on the concrete. Clementine would have to hang on a part of the rope, while Lee drew it so Clementine would go up. Everyone gathered around the girl as Lee displaced the rope, making her rise in the air.

"Shit, he's coming back! Lee, you gotta let her go!" Mike whispered.

Lee nervously looked for a solution. He then spotted that half broken ladder near the crane.

"Clementine, grab onto that ladder!" Lee told her. She lodged onto the ladder and continued to climb from there. She looked down to Lee, but he had to go to his bunk. If Troy found out that they weren't sleeping, they'd be in trouble.

"It's okay! You'll be lucky!" Lee assured.

A/N: Well, there you have Chapter 5! Remember to fave and review for Sneaky Clem!


	6. Chapter 6 - Trust

The Walking Dead Camp Carver

Chapter 6 – Trust

Clementine set down her legs on the rooftop. She gasped silently when she spotted a bearded guard on the adjoining roof, but he was mindlessly strolling around, talking to someone on his walkie-talkie, and wasn't looking in her direction. Her body weakened when she saw the massive ocean of walkers forming in the distance. _We're in trouble, _she thought.

In the center, there was a greenhouse, whose door was locked. But further away, there was that skylight Jane was talking about. Clementine crouched and sneaked her way over to it. She had the misfortune to accidentally kick a rock that echoed as it ricocheted across the pavement.

_Oh shoot! _She ran while staying down behind a pair of barrels. She peeked between them and saw that the guard had heard the sound and was searching for the noise's source. But he quickly shrugged it off.

Clementine wiped her forehead and sighed in relief. She continued her way over to the skylight and felt safer when she reached the cover that the greenhouse provided. If the guard turned around, he wouldn't be able to see her behind the small building.

She lifted the glass structure. It was a bit heavy, but she managed well. She was careful to check if there was something to smooth her landing below her and that she didn't make any noise when closing the skylight.

She froze when she saw that Tavia was near the charging stations, filled with walkie-talkies. She went prone in the sturdy box she was on top of. She didn't felt any fear seeing the large distance between her and the ground. She had conquered that fear after many days spent in her treehouse.

But she was still frightened about if she got caught. She climbed down a few crates down, but she didn't dare to go any further. It was too risky. She decided to wait it out for some minutes, and hope that Tavia might go away. If not, then she'd have to take her chances.

After a couple minutes, Tavia broke her conversation with the guard outside, and smoked a cigarette. Then, a man with a red shirt and that looked Asian entered the stockroom.

"You can't be smoking back here!" The Asian dude criticized, not wanting for anyone to hear it.

"Come Vince. Don't give me that." Tavia supplicated.

"If Bill smells a whiff of smoke back here, he'll flip. What're you thinking?!" He apprehended. "You know what? I'm just gonna tell him. I'm not letting someone else get blamed for this. That's bullshit."

Vince turned around and exited the room, determined in heading over to Carver's office.

"Vince, come on! Vince! Vince, wait!" She ran after him.

_Time to act, _she thought. Perhaps she was being lucky, just like Lee said. She jumped from platform to platform until she reached solid ground, and double checked to see that the stockroom was empty. She hurtled over to the charging pods and took two of them. She stored them away in the pockets of the coat Bonnie had given her, and she climbed back up the mountain of shelves and crates.

In a minute, she was already near the ladder and she climbed down when that guard, Hank, was looking the other way. She smiled as she saw Lee waiting for her against the wall.

"Psst." She whispered. He turned his head and saw Clementine, making him smile.

"Are you alright? No one saw you, right?" He asked.

"No. I got them!" She cheerfully asserted as she took one of the walkie-talkies and showed it to him. "Help me get down, please."

"Just fall down, I'll catch ya!" He assured, opening his arms. She hesitantly let gravity take her and she landed firmly in Lee's arms.

"You did great, sweet pea." He rewarded.

"Lee, do you think…we'll ever get back to the Motel? 'Cause I left my walkie-talkie there."

"I'll be honest, Clem, I'm not sure if we'll return to the Motel. But I'll tell ya, when this is all over, you can have the walkie-talkies, okay?"

"Yes."

They walked back to their bunks so they wouldn't get caught. Everybody praised Clementine, and everyone was both shocked and surprised in the girl's abilities. Only Mike and Ben didn't idolize Clem because they were already in a profound sleep. At least these two had something in common.

"Got a long day ahead of us. One long day." Kenny rambled.

OOO

Morning arrived. The group that lived in the yard was gathering before heading to their jobs to decide on how to get the walkie-talkie over to Lilly. Troy and Tavia still hadn't arrived to get them to their posts, but their time was short.

"Alright, we're all here." Kenny regarded.

"Someone's gotta get the radio out to Lilly, what's the problem?" Carley asked.

"We should probably figure out who's doin' what before we actually go into action. For example, how're we gonna get the radio over to Lilly?"

"I can do it." Reggie volunteered, raising his only arm. "Bill's gonna let me back in real soon. I can give it to Lilly once I get out."

"But we need Lilly to have the radio NOW." Kenny quarreled.

"Then Bonnie can do it. She too helped my group when we tried to escape. Carver never found out about it, so she has access to the northwest section." Reggie suggested.

"Are you sure she's trustworthy?" Kenny folded his arms, suspicious. He still didn't know these people, but there weren't many options.

"I work with Bonnie. She looked nice, and I can give her the radio." Clementine offered among the tall adults.

The gate rose and Tavia and Carver came in.

"I see you're already up. Good." Carver noticed, placing his palms in his hips. "I just wanted to give you a small warning. I want you to know that the way Lee and Kenny screwed up yesterday can't be tolerated. No lunch for a week. And that goes for everyone. Beware, because the next mistake any of you makes, the solution will be this one." He gestured over to his revolver. No one was actually bothered that they would be deprived from food, because if everything went well, they'd be out of there soon. "They're all yours, Tavia." He made his way out after his brief warning.

"Time to get up. Daylight's burnin'. They let you sleep in, all things considered." Tavia shouted. "Reggie, Carley, Ben, Jane, Katjaa, and you boy." She pointed at Duck. "If you gotta take a piss, do it now. Next break won't be for a while."

"Wait. Where ya takin' Duck?" Kenny urged to know.

"The kid? He's goin' to work at the greenhouse with your friends. Don't like it, take it up with Bill. Troy'll be coming up for the rest of you."

"Watch over my boy, will ya?" Kenny pleaded to Carley. They had a passive relation, but someone had to keep surveillance over that kid.

"Yes, sure." She replied, as the four people went away. Katjaa kissed her son on the cheek before he left. Katjaa leaned on Kenny.

"He'll be alright. He's with our people." Kenny said. He was the most optimistic out of them two.

Hank locked the gate and only Mike, Lee, Kenny, and Clementine stayed behind.

"All right, look. If we're gonna do something we gotta do it now." Lee declared. "If Lilly's all we got, we pair up with her." Kenny never did liked Lilly, but she was their only way out. "Clementine is working with her, so she can give her the radio."

"Seems like it's all set." Kenny spoke, scratching his moustache, that was starting to become a beard.

"Are you fuckin' kidding?" Mike was the only one to disagree. "No offense, but c'mon, she's a kid. Why would -"

"There's a million reasons!" Lee affirmed. "She knows Bonnie, she can hide if something goes to shit, she got the radios for us in the first place!"

"Who cares?" Mike muttered.

"And we're sorry, Mike," Kenny insisted. "But we don't know you from fucking Adam, all right?"

"They're right, I should do it." Clementine stood up.

"Don't do something stupid just to get some respect."

"She doesn't need your fuckin' respect." Kenny stated.

Their chat was interrupted when the gate rose again, and Troy appeared.

"All right little chickens. Let's get to peckin'." Troy called out.

"Troy, take 'em" And with that, Bill retreated.

"Don't you think today's gonna be like yesterday. No way. No shenanigans." Troy adverted. "This rooster's gonna be surveilling your ass every second of the day, you hear?"

The four people followed Troy out the door, but Lee stopped suddenly.

"You have your pockets all out." Lee said the first thing that he thought of. He inserted a walkie-talkie in her pocket. It was invisible, expect for the antenna. Clementine crossed her arms so it wouldn't be seen. "Gonna get your tags snagged on something." Troy stared at Lee, but he shrugged it off and they departed from the yard.

"Let's go." He ordered.

On the way out, Bonnie appeared to get Clementine. The two walked towards the armory.

Clem gladly followed Bonnie into the armory.

"I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I've been thinking…this community gets worse every day…sometimes I fear what Carver will do…sometimes I even wish I had gone with Luke and the others." She confessed. They got to the armory and Bonnie opened the door, but spotted something in Clementine.

"You look anxious Clementine. Somethin' the matter?" She asked, as she spotted something that bothered the girl. She looked over her shoulder to see Hank and another guard passing by. Bonnie noticed this immediately and understood everything. She waved for her to get in. "You know you can talk to me, right? I know that it was because of me you were dragged out of that motel, but that'll never happen again."

"Bonnie. Someone I know is waiting for me to give this to her." Clementine pulled out the walkie-talkie from her jacket. Bonnie's eyes were wide open when she saw it. "She needs it."

"Clementine!"

"Can you, give it to her…? Please?" She shyly asked.

After a couple of seconds of her pondering, she grabbed the radio.

"Are you guys thinking about breaking out?" She asked.

"Yes. That's what I heard the others talking about at least."

"If I do this, can you ask your group if I…can come with y'all?" She inquired.

"Sure thing, I'll ask 'em." The nine-year old assured.

"Alright. Where's the meetin'?"

"They said something about 'Northwest'." Clementine explained. She then described Lilly, so Bonnie would know who to give the radio to.

OOO

Lee, Kenny and Mike were shocked to see that they were headed outside, the place that was overwhelmed by walkers.

"You're gonna send us outside?!" Mike queried, backing away from the door.

"Y'all have to clean up the shit y'all did." He gave each one of them a hammer. "Y'all are lucky that we give ya weapons. Don't dare to try anythin' funny with them hammers. I'll be watchin' you from the rooftop. Go the fuck in."

Lee gulped, and opened the door. He prepared to kill any walkers that came his way, but the entrance was clear. When he looked down the corridor, it was different; the fence had gone to hell, and lurkers stumbled across cables and pieces of debris from the fence.

A minute later, Troy had made his way over to the watchtower and exchanged his rifle to a crossbow.

"Start clearing them zombies, you assholes!" He shouted.

"Careful not to get bitten." Lee advised.

"This is fuckin' fucked." Kenny commented, crushing the skull of a walker without walkers.

"Nah, this is good." Lee observed, smashing a walker's brains in. He almost tripped over a stack of intestines on the ground. _Yuck._

"How?" Mike analyzed.

"This way, we can check the holes and see if they're good as an escape route."

After clearing about ten zombies, the trio realized that most of the walkers had wandered off, probably because there was no food around there.

"I'm gonna check inside the building for lurkers!" Lee screamed at Troy. He was hesitant in letting one of these idiots out of his sight.

"Not gonna happen, fucker. Simply look inside and say if there are any!"

Lee swung the door open and saw the room impeccable, no dead in sight.

"It's clear." Lee said. He wanted to lie, but Troy still wouldn't let him in for sure.

"Well, then go on and continue!" Troy ordered.

Both Lee and Mike had the attention to pull up their sleeves, to protect them from bites. Kenny already had his sleeves up. They continued to slaughter undead people, until it was clear, and there were only left a bunch of bodies.

Quick Note: This chapter was a bit monotonous, but next chapters will be better, as the group will try to flee from Camp Carver. By the way, I plan to continue this through Amid The Ruins and maybe No Going Back, in case you're wondering. Remember to fave and to drop a review!


	7. Chapter 7 - Forewarnings

The Walking Dead Camp Carver

Chapter 7 - Forewarnings

Lee wondered why Troy was already leading them into the pen. It wasn't even midday already. They were covered in blood, their clothes soaked in guts and muck. He had been careful not to let it inside his mouth or eyes, even though it had been nearly four months after the beginning, they still didn't understood fully the infection.

He was surprised to see that everyone else too was there, and Katjaa was kneeled, examining someone on the ground. _What the fuck?! _

To the worst of his fear, he recognized Lilly being fixed by Katjaa from some cuts. _Fuck…_

"Get over there!" Troy pushed them. Carver was pacing in the background, and Tavia too was there.

"And how is it that we're paid with our trust? With treachery? With deceit?" Carver despised, as Katjaa checked Lilly's breathing. Clementine approached Lee and clung onto his arm.

"What's happening?" She whispered.

"They found out about the radios." Lee honestly explained, keeping his eyes on Carver, who was dangerously unpredictable.

"Whatever you were planning is over. It's done." Bill raised his arm, showing the walkie-talkie. "You can't just run from your problems. You can't just up and leave when it gets tough. 'Cause there's nowhere else you can go where it ain't." Carver said, as the group lined up. He eyed each member of this group. "Tough is all we got now. Get that through your fuckin' skulls." He placed himself in front of the people, with his guards around them. "Lilly here, she can't help you now. You gotta help yourselves. You gotta help me find the strength to forgive you. Now you can start by telling me where the other one is. I'll count to three. If that radio ain't in my hand by then, we'll have to make things more difficult."

_Dammit,_ Lee thought. Their whole plan had vanished now. He was the one that had the second walkie-talkie. He was afraid of what Carver could do if he didn't give it to him, but it would probably end badly either way.

"One…"

Lee reached into his trousers and located the radio.

"Two…"

"I got it right here!" Lee screamed, waving with the walkie-talkie. Carver lent out his hand to get it. Carley tried to stop him, but Lee replied to her that it was alright. Lee stepped over to Bill, and dropped the radio on his hand.

"Sorry about that. Not sure what I was thinkin'." Lee excused.

"Three…" He concluded.

Bill stared at him. Lee was waiting for Bill to tell him something; that was why he didn't expect when Carver hit him in the face with the edge of the radio, opening a cut. He was stunned and fell to the floor. He supported his weight with his elbows and tried to catch his breath, as Carver advanced towards him.

"LEE!" Carley ran towards him, but Troy knocked her out with the butt of his AK.

"You little shit." He mumbled. Clementine tried to ran to him too, but Katjaa grabbed her, so the same wouldn't happen to her.

Carver punched him again, making the concrete get painted red with the blood. Bill grabbed him by the collar to get a better grip, and hit him again with might. Lee was now dizzy and his vision got blurred, he felt like he was about to die. No, he had to stay strong for Clementine.

Bill started hitting his temple, and as his psychotic rage grew, he completely smashed Lee's eyeball, obliterating it as if it were jelly.

"Bill! That's enough Bill!" Bonnie shouted as she entered the yard. Surprisingly, Troy looked somewhat disgusted by these images. "Bill, there's a breach." She caught his attention. He punched one last time Lee, who was now covered in bruises and blood, and had lost sight on his left eye.

"Alright, everyone come with me." Carver ordered. He tossed away the radio, as it was broken beyond oblivion, and wiped his bloody hand on his coat. "Bonnie, you stick around. Make sure those folks don't get into any more trouble."

"Yeah. Okay." She asserted.

Before he left with his guards, he spit out a couple other words.

"Perhaps I was too nice. Two weeks without supper. Maybe we can do this again tomorrow."

Bonnie checked on Carley. She was fine, but out cold. Clementine was crying and hugging Lee.

"Do your best with him, Katjaa." Bonnie told her. "You need to get him able to move, 'cause we're leavin' tonight."

Everybody had their eyes wide open. The adrenaline and excitement were pumping through their veins. They weren't sure on what Bonnie's plan was, but they surely wanted to get the hell out of there.

"We're leavin' tonight." She repeated.

OOO

Another eerie night. This time, the cold and moaning of the lurkers didn't bother them. No, tonight they were breaking out of this awful place. With luck, they would be able to kill Carver on the way out, and as many guards as they could.

Katjaa was trying to stop the bleeding on Lee's skull. She insisted that it was best Clementine not to see this, but she wanted to be the first to know if he would wake up. Mike and Kenny were surveilling the gate, and exchanged a few words with Bonnie when no one was looking. Carley was crying her eyes out, accompanied by Lilly, though she didn't bother to say much consoling words. She had lost her father to the hands of Kenny and Lee, and nobody was there for her. Ben too often checked in with Lee. He felt worse than ever. It was because of him that Lee might never wake up again. Duck, well, was drowning his repressed memories in the art of drawing, and Jane for the first time, was participating in the group discussion. Reggie was in a conundrum with himself. He was still unsure if he was going to leave or stay.

"What'd she say?" Lilly demanded, referring to Bonnie.

"She said she can get us out of the pen if we get the PA system going. Second she hears it, she'll run over and spring us." Mike explained.

"That's great." Kenny said, optimistic.

"It's not great." Lilly muttered.

"What do ya mean?" Mike asked.

"Look, I know part of this was my fault. I got reckless trying to steal some food, and I got caught."

"We can't stay here!" Kenny argued. Now that these two were together, the real problem would begin.

"It's risky!"

"Risky? Did you see what that son of a bitch just do? Look, the plan works. Everything is set up. The hard part's done." Mike reasoned. "This guy's fucking crazy, who knows what he'll do next."

"Yeah, but now Lee's beat to shit and Carley's in no condition to do anything." Lilly spoke. She denied it, but a part of her just wanted to leave Kenny and Lee behind. "We should rest up. Bide our time. And wait for an opening."

"Bonnie's agreed to help us TONIGHT."

"That don't mean she can't do it some other night!"

"We're not waiting!" Mike voiced.

"Ain't nothing out there guys!" Lilly told. "Trust me, I looked. There's no food, no supplies. They picked everything clean! We'll starve out there!"

That instant, Katjaa walked over to the group. The prisoners gathered to hear her news.

"His orbital is crushed. I don't think there's much hope for the eye." Katjaa announced, as she shed a tear. "I got him as stable as I could, cleaned it, got some of the swelling down, bandaged it the best I could. But until he wakes up, we won't know if he'll make."

"You did the best you could, honey." Kenny assured, hugging his wife.

"Fuck…" Mike sputtered.

"Look, maybe I'm just playin' devil's advocate here, but if we do go tonight, we might have to consider leavin' some people behind." Lilly suggested.

"No!" Carley disagreed.

"We're not leaving Lee!" Clementine shouted.

"Don't worry…you won't have to…" Lee weakly said, as he shambled towards them, with an improvised eye patch.

"Lee!" Clementine smiled and ran to hug him. Carley got and did the same. I guess you could those two were involved now. He spotted Kenny approach him. He had been a huge asshole since Larry died, simply because he had disagreed with him. He did recall that he almost left him to die a couple days back in the drugstore.

"Good to have you back." Kenny blankly said.

_Fuck you, Kenny,_ Lee mentally said, but he just ignored Kenny.

"Plan don't change." Lee said. "We leave tonight."

"You are one tough bastard." Mike complimented.

"Do tough bastards get their ass kicked in front of everybody?" He joked.

"All right. What now then?" Lilly questioned.

"We get the hell outta here." Lee said, trying to make his voice sound normal, as it was hoarse.

"Like now, now?"

"Yeah. Where are we goin'? I case things get squirrely and we gotta make a break for it, we need a place to meet up."

"We can meet up at Parker's Run." Reggie proposed.

"Isn't that a civil war site, somethin' like that?" Lee asked. He had some knowledge on the Civil War theme; after all he was a history teacher.

"Yeah, it's a few miles north. Got signs all over. Just follow the road."

"Alright, that works. If we get split, we'll rendezvous there."

"Then we still have to decide who's gonna turn on that PA system." Lilly reminded. Obviously, the group gazed at Clementine.

"Don't worry sweet pea. This is the last time. Then, we'll be free to go." Lee assured. Clementine nodded.

They did the same drill of Lee pulling Clementine up the rope. In the meanwhile, Reggie explained her in a basic way the things she'd have to do.

"It's simple." Reggie clarified, trying to keep his instructions simple. "Go into Carver's office, check if nobody's in there. Turn on the outside and inside speakers on the microphone box. Then climb back up and go to the stockroom. We'll meet you there."

"Where's the stockroom?" Clem asked.

"It's where you stole the walkie-talkies." Reggie indicated. "Got all that?"

"Yeah, I got it." She certified, as she slowly flew in the air.

She jumped on the ladder and climbed on from there. She looked at the same spot she'd been the previous day. Nothing had changed, except that Hank was no longer there, meaning she could move freely, and the herd of walkers was nearer and bigger.

Clem got up; no need to hide. _Where's the office?_ She interrogated herself. She forgot to ask Reggie where Bill's office was. There were only two skylights, one of them led to the stock room, so the other one was probably the way to Carver's room.

She ran there, the sounds of the storm covering her footsteps' sound. She stared through the glass, and she saw nobody. She opened the skylight, and dropped inside. She landed on a small cardboard box that was on top of some metal lockers.

She got her feet on the carpet and spotted the microphone in the corner. She passed by Carver's desk, and she wondered if there was anything useful inside it.

She opened the front drawer and found a derringer pistol inside. Lee still hadn't taught how to shoot, but she had seen Lilly and Mark teach everyone else. She would simply take it; you'd never know when it might come in handy.

Clementine started focusing on her primary objective, which was turning on those speakers. She looked at the microphone box. _Turn on the outside and inside speakers on the microphone box, _Reggie's words echoed in her mind. The inside speakers were already on, probably so Bill could do his speeches, but the outside speakers were turned off. Clem clicked the green light, and it lit up immediately. She decided to crank up the sound to create maximum havoc. Only to her surprise that she heard nothing coming out of the speakers.

"No, no, what's wrong?!"

She followed the cables behind the mic and saw a CD Player. She pushed a button to eject the CD, but there was none inside.

"There's gotta be a CD around here!"

She searched for one in the bookshelves around for some seconds, until she noticed one on the desk. She placed it inside the CD Player.

"_This 4__th__ of July, make sure your backyard barbecue is complete!_" A female voice rang out in Howe's, calling the attention of every soul inside.

She looked out the window, and saw Bonnie freeing her friends, while some guards were closing in on her position. She hurtled on top of the lockers at got out of there the second Hank went inside.


	8. Chapter 8 - Step Eight: Freedom

The Walking Dead Camp Carver

Chapter 8 – Step Eight: Freedom

Clementine got up on the roof and hurried to the stockroom's skylight. She was eager to go back to Lee, where she felt safer.

She looked through the glass and was petrified when she saw that Carver was holding everyone at gunpoint. They had their hands up, and were setting on the ground, one by one, the weapons Bonnie had given them.

"You guys want to disrespect me, fine!" Carver waved his AK-47 around. "You wanna throw away the life I'm tryin' to build for us, then fuckin' fine." He stared at Bonnie. "Wanna run off with this dogshit group of crippled fucks, be my guest."

Clementine crept down the shelves as quietly as she could, until she reached a lower one, where she'd have to balance and walk along. She was right above Carver, and she would be able to take him down. Maybe.

Lee spotted her, but looked towards Carver so he wouldn't give her away. He prepared for Clementine to make a move.

"Reggie, Reggie, Reg. What the fuck happened?" Carver demanded. "I gave you second chance! After you helped those fuckers run away. I was about to let you back in. And this is how I'm repaid."

Reggie turned away his head.

"You look me in the fuckin' eyes when I talk, you worthless prick!" Carver shouted, as he gripped Reggie by the neck.

"And what about you Ben?" Carver let go of Reggie, pushing him. "I thought we had a deal. It's true I broke my end, but I tried to make up for it when I brought your group here."

_Gulp._

"What the fuck is he talkin' about, Ben?!" Kenny asked.

"Oh, he didn't told you?" Bill smiled like the devil. "Your teenager friend was givin' us supplies for a long while now. I promised him to give him his friend, but she died, so in order to make up for it, I brought you all here."

That moment, Clementine fired that derringer she got earlier. Her aim was a little off, so the bullet only scrapped his cheek, although the distraction was enough for Lee to pull out the knife Lilly had given him, and for him to stab Carver in shoulder, resulting in Kenny grabbing the AK-47 and take it away from him. Checkmate.

The situation quickly turned around, and the prisoners were now lowering their arms, and Bill was rising them.

"Get the fuck back!" Kenny ordered.

Clementine jumped down, as it was a small fall. She ran towards Lee.

"I'm glad you're okay." Lee said.

"Did I do good?"

"Yes, you did." He praised. "Stay with Carley for a few moments. I have somethin' to settle." Carley appeared and she assured Lee by nodding. Lee turned and walked towards Carver, who was surrounded and outnumbered. Only a matter of choosing what to do with him.

"What do we do about him, Lee?" Kenny asked. "I was thinking of doin' some target practice on 'im."

"We can't leave him alive, that's for sure." Lee agreed.

"Wait, no, you can't do that!" Reggie hollered, standing in the rifle's line of fire. "He might be an asshole, but he's been keeping this community going! If we kill him, this entire place will go to hell! Everybody will die in here!"

"Good! Let 'em burn in hell with this fucker!" Kenny yelled.

"You don't have to do it." Carley laid her hand on Lee's shoulder, followed by Clementine. "Back at the St. John dairy, you didn't kill Andy nor Danny. It wasn't necessary. And now, it isn't."

"Carley, this is different. If we let him live, he will chase us down and kill us all! We can't risk losin' more people." Lee reasoned. In a way, he was right. Bill would find them eventually. "Just make sure Clem doesn't see anything."

"C'mon." Carley told Clem, as they wandered off. The rest of them retrieved their guns and tools.

Kenny pulled the trigger as hard as he could. He tried to control the strong and unexpected recoil, the bullets penetrated through Carver's chest with ease. He stepped back, and his arms flew in the air as he was shot repeatedly. Until the clip was empty. Carver was now dead, with his rib cage full of holes. _Gotta make sure he doesn't turn, _Lee thought, so he shot him in the forehead with a Glock 17.

"Let's go." Lee blankly said.

"Not yet. We still have somethin' to deal with. I mean that fuckin' shitbird over there!" He pointed his finger at Ben.

"Look, don't get mad, okay? I can explain!" He stuttered, backing away.

"He's right. You were the one who was splitting our supplies all along, weren't you?!" Lilly shouted.

"Yes, I was!" He explained. "But I was only trying to buy us some time so Kenny could fix the RV, and we could get away!"

"Still, it never crossed your mind to tell one of us?!"

"I didn't know how you would react, okay?! If it wasn't for me, we'd be dead by now!"

"Don't try to play the fuckin' hero! If one of us got sick, or was starvin', didn't you ever think about that?!" Kenny accused, stabbing Ben in the chest with his finger. It was weird seeing Lilly and Kenny finding common ground for the first time.

"Nice group you got here." Jane grinned.

"Now's not the fuckin' time, Jane!" Lee apprehended.

For some seconds, not a sound was heard. Until they started hearing footsteps running in their directions.

"Shit, we gotta go. Everybody, out!" Lee ordered, as he held Clem's hand.

Jane and Mike opened the gate and allowed everybody to get out. The landscape it front of them was terrifying, a massive body of undead corpses was walking towards Howe's Hardware. Jane had talked about smearing themselves in walker guts to disguise themselves, which was pretty gross, but it was survival they were talking about here.

"Here, do it like me." Jane demonstrated. The first zombie she saw, she lodged her survival knife in its brains. Then, she kneeled near the body, she cut its belly open, removed his intestines and smeared herself. Everyone was disgusted, but this had to be carried out. Ben was the only one that had to puke on a couple of bushes.

Kenny gathered with his family and smeared themselves with walker blood, just Lee gathered with Carley and Clementine.

"You guys better hurry and get to smearing if you want to live." Jane adverted. "Or you can die here. Doesn't matter to me."

"We're gonna put that on us?" Clementine asked, regarding the entrails of a corpse.

"We have to sweet pea." Lee said. "It'll be okay, sweetie. Just stay still." He assured, as he passed the intestines and gore on Clementine's back.

"Eew…smells gross." She muttered.

"I'll try not to put to much. But we have to be sure that the walkers won't notice us. Just remain calm, and we'll be able to walk through the zombies. But we'll keep you safe no matter what."

"I'm good." Carley said, as she certified that she smelled like death.

"I think it's okay." Lee said as he got up. Clementine's coat was now painted red. "Everybody set?" Lee demanded as everybody nodded. They were all covered in red and smelling like shit. Just what they needed.

"Everybody ready? We need to get going before…" Kenny was interrupted, as Troy's silhouette emerged from the stockroom.

"What in the actual fuck is going on here?!" Troy hollered as he was nauseated with what these people were doing. "What is this sick shit. Someone say somethin' before I start-" Troy stopped as he saw that Lilly was reaching for a Winchester 70 rifle. "Hey HEY HEY! Don't you even think about it, bitch, I will end you!" He threatened as he aimed his rifle to her chin. "You hear me?!"

Jane was the only who managed to hide her gun, so she got up and paced towards Troy.

"Troy, we talked about this." She calmly said, leaving everyone confused.

"What? The fuck ya talkin' about?!" Troy replied.

"I told you I wanted to get out. You said you'd help, then I'd help."

"I thought you meant get outta the pen. Not whatever the fuck this shit is!"

"I did, but now we can leave…you can come with us…"

That moment, a zombie approached Mike and Reggie, but they kept their wits and calm, so he passed right by them.

"Well…where would we go?" Troy started to let down his guard.

"Away from here…together."

"Man, you smell really bad…you're gonna get a bath before we-" Troy chuckled, before Jane aimed the assault rifle in a safe direction, and shot Troy in the dick.

Troy fell to the ground, clutching his painful groin. "She shot my dick off!" He screamed, as he was eaten by lurkers.

"C'mon." Jane said without remorse. "Don't make any noise, got it? They might hear something they don't like. And for fuck's sake, walk. Act like you belong and you will belong."

"Everybody. Walk in a line, like a convoy." Kenny whispered to the group. Lee verified that Clementine was by his side and he had a strong hold on her. Katjaa carried her son on her lap, something she hadn't done in a long time. "I'll go up front. Everybody else, cover our sides and our rear!"

They started shambling in the opposite direction of the walkers' march. Suddenly, a bunch of gunfire was coming from the rooftops. It were all of Howe's guards, Tavia, Hank, Lowell, etc., shooting at the walkers below.

"Fuck! We're gonna get shot!" Ben hummed.

"Shut the fuck up back there!" Mike told Ben.

Second by second, their formation began to become more disperse, in order to avoid walkers.

Katjaa gurgled for air when a bullet hit her neck. She stumbled around, until she fell in the middle of some lurkers.

"Katjaa!" Kenny screamed as he vanished into the horde.

_Oh shit! _Lee spotted Clementine panting heavily, she had seen this horror. Lee gazed over his shoulder to see that he could barely see any of his fellow friends in the thick wall that the zombies created.

"Dammit, stop panicking!" Lee couldn't even distinguish the different voices that talked, muffled by the moaning of the walkers.

"Where the hell's Kenny?!"

"We're not gonna make it!"

"Shut up assholes!"

Lee's ears blew when he heard a nearby yell. He turned his head around, and he saw Carley fighting against a lurker that was biting her hand.

Lee ran in her direction. He elevated his arm to kill the undead corpse, but then he thought about it. Reggie said he was bitten in the arm, and Mike managed to save him. If he hacked her arm, she might make it. On the other hand, the chances she'd bleed out were big.

No, he had to right to maim a person without the permission to. He unleashed his fury on the walker, that fell dead quickly. Lee and Carley stared at each other, processing what just had happened.

_Next Time On The Walking Dead…_

Mike leaned against the brick of Parker's Run. Bonnie crossed her arms, and Lee sat in a stone bench with Clementine. They were all looking at Kenny, who was sitting alone near the non-working fountain.

OOO

Lee grabbed a broken glass shard on the floor and saw his reflecting appearance on it. He lifted the bandage eye patch and regarded the wound. Such pain.

_Guess I won't be pretty anymore when this heals, _he thought.

OOO

_Fallen, but never forsaken._

The plaque nailed to the statue that showed a man carrying his hurt comrade said.

OOO

Jane, Lee and Clementine walked through the woods, searching for their friends. Lee carried a hatchet.

"Look, Lee, I know you're a smart guy. I'm gonna level with you." Jane said, as they stopped walking. "That group is cracking. I've seen it before. You don't to be here when they start turning on each other, especially with that little girl you got. If things start getting South, don't let them drag you down with them."

Lee remembered when Kenny pushed Mike against a wall back at Howe's and the betrayal of Ben.

OOO

Lee was sitting in a tent, with Carley's head laying on his lap. She was afraid of what her possible death might feel. So, Lee decided to say some words to calm her.

"Do you know what it feels like to get beaten…almost to death? Peaceful. It felt peaceful. Like I was floating away…somewhere better."

OOO

Mike hit a walker in the face with a small sledgehammer.

OOO

Jane pierced a zombie's skull with a small awl.

OOO

"Don't fucking move, assholes!" A man shouted, pointing a Glock 17 at Lee and Clementine. He wore a cap with Halo's logo on it, a black and white shirt, and army-pattern trousers.

"Hey, we're not looking for trouble! I have a little girl with me!" Lee asserted, raising his arms.

"What's wrong, Nick? Who are these guys?" Another man appeared, instead he wore an orange shirt, jeans, and had a Glock 17 holstered on his waist and a machete on his back.

OOO

Lee looked from the cannon that he was using as hiding place, and saw a teenager wearing glasses, and used a leg brace.

Author's Note: BOOM, cliffhanger. So our friends have escaped from Howe's and now must head for Parker's Run. I would like to thank to everyone who supported this Fanfic so far, and keep an eye out for the sequel, "The Walking Dead Parker's Run". See ya!


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